"Sub-zero temperatures are likely to kick in by the middle of next week during the night.

"But the county won't be as badly affected as other parts of the UK."

In the past Merseyside has experienced two major episodes of freezing temperatures and snow.

During the winter of 1963 people endured three months of snow and icy weather.

And the area was hit again in 1981.

Bosses at Liverpool city council said they were prepared for next week's bad weather.

The council has installed an Ice Prediction System for the city's road network.

A spokesman said: "The state-of-the-art system enables engineers to gain a better picture of impending weather conditions across the Liverpool road network. "It gives advanced warning of approaching bad weather to enable gritting to be under-taken in a timely fashion on Liverpool's roads.

"There are two roadside weather stations at sites in Old Swan and Fazakerley. "The sites measure road sur-face and atmospheric data in the immediate area.